Who Was Thanos in ‘The Avengers?’ Meet the Man Behind the Mad Titan

If you've seen 'The Avengers' yet (and judging by the amount of money the thing has made, you maybe have seen it a few times), you're familiar with Thanos, the supervillain introduced at the end of the film. But you're probably less familiar with the actor behind the purple face. As 'Avengers' is set to hit DVD and Blu-ray later this month, let's meet the man behind the big bad of the Marvel movie universe.

The actor who starred as Thanos in 'The Avengers' is Damion Poitier. You might recognize Mr. Poitier from his role on 'True Blood' (he stars as Duprez) or from a bit part on 'Parks and Recreation.' While he was credited only as "Man #1" to protect the secrecy of the role, Poitier put some motion-capture dots on his face and smiled the most infamous smile of the movie year so far.

Poitier was familiar with director Joss Whedon from his time as a stuntman on the shortlived Fox series 'Dollhouse' which Whedon created.

Thanos, from what we know, will be a very important part of "Phase 2" of the Marvel Movie Universe, which begins with 'Iron Man 3' this summer. While Thanos isn't expected to be in that film, he will appear in 'Guardians of the Galaxy' and is expected to be the driving force behind the events in 'The Avengers 2' (rumored to be the Infinity Gauntlet storyline).

But will Poitier return as Thanos for any future films? Right now, Marvel and Poitier aren't talking but we wouldn't be surprised if he returned to the role.